The Quiet Lives of Katta
The Quiet Lives of Katta Sunday June 7, 2009 An Interview With Pravoon Mowa, Professional Spokeskatta by Joseph Howse, Paladin Reporter While visiting the marketplace during siesta, I happened to meet a sleepless katta named Pravoon Mowa. His nonstop work, which seems only to enliven him, stems from the prestigious post that his fellow felines have entrusted to him: he is Spokeskatta for the Silmarian Alliance of Bazaar Stall Owning Kattas (SABSOK). As he walked and posted notices, he obliged my inquisitive nature by discussing katta culture with me. Joseph Howse: Thank you for letting me follow you, Pravoon. Pravoon Mowa: That is how kittens learn! JH: Laughter. I daresay it is. What I’d like to learn first is your story, Pravoon. How did you come to be Spokeskatta for SABSOK? PM: I have lived in Silmaria since I was a kitten. This is a musical place and its people—even other katta— have always told me my voice is beautiful. That is why I decided to found SABSOK and be a Spokeskatta. JH: And what does your organization do? PM: We are a mutual self-help entity, perhaps not unlike your School for Heroes. For instance, when katta can benefit from a magic item, SABSOK arranges to pool the funds for its purchase. When times are hard and we must share amphorae on a rotary basis, we make sure our members do so. JH: Worthy work, indeed. You mention the School for Heroes; are katta starting to take an interest in it? PM: Katta are always friends of heroes, as heroes are friends of katta. However, few katta announce themselves as heroes by profession. We are too calm. JH: However, the katta, may I say, are a very prolific people… PM: Thank you. JH: …and you inhabit a great portion of the world. What does a katta look for when choosing a land to call "home"? PM: Yes. First, for many katta, there is no place but the South End of Raseir. We tell a little joke. A Raseirian katta says he is joining a caravan to Tarna. His cousin asks, “Which way will you go: by the Tarik of Tails, or Fris’kies Darb?” You see, these are opulent streets in Raseir. Fris’kies Darb is named for a delicious food item, a kind of pâté that the rich eat for every meal of the day. To keep good pâté is difficult in the desert and many poorer katta cannot stomach it without wretching. But…as you say, there are katta who travel widely. They tend to settle in places that are not unlike Raseir or Shapeir—sunny, dry and…I suppose the word is “cosmopolitan”. We are merchants and we thrive on the essence of the bazaar, the scent of fine goods and of trusted friends. Silmaria is like this, of course. So is Tarna, where the most adventurous katta may feel an affinity for the liontaurs and even the reclusive leopardmen. But hunting in the savanna is not for me. I prefer anchovy pizza to bush meat. JH: Given the choice, I’d have to agree. Now, why—if I’ve heard correctly—why are there no katta in Mordavia? PM: You are correct that there are no katta in Mordavia, partly for the reasons I have mentioned: it is damper there and more lonely. Also, Mordavians have many superstitions, and fearful people seldom welcome katta. Even in Raseir, in the time of Ad Avis, it was fear that allowed our neighbors to stand by while we were cast from our homes. One of my cousins, a very trusting katta, almost like a kitten, did visit Mordavia a few years ago to trade. He was not treated as badly as he might have been, I suppose, but a strange lady in the general store tried to lock him in and keep him as a pet. Ever since his return, he wakes up in the middle of siesta and starts washing and washing and washing! Look, there! Ah, he is dozing off again. JH: What a terrible ordeal for him. Pravoon, looking to the future, what role would you like to see katta play in shaping Silmarian society? PM: Wherever we go, katta are always a voice of moderation and reason. We feel no envy for the powers of sultans and kings. We will simply speak for peace. The King of Silmaria is a friend of katta, liontaurs and leopardmen. He should also make efforts to reconcile with the cougarmen on Marete. Perhaps we may speak of that issue another time. JH: Thank you for your thoughtful answers, then, Pravoon. PM: Certainly. Let us lick paws. After exchanging this gesture of friendship with Pravoon, I made my way back to the campus. To my eyes, dusk started to swallow the details on the hilly horizon, yet I am sure that in the same light there was many a farseeing katta. Category:Ars Heroica